Revisiting four scientific debates in ocean acidification research

Abstract. In recent years, ocean acidification has gained continuously increasing attention from scientists and a number of stakeholders and has raised serious concerns about its effects on marine organisms and ecosystems. With the increase in interest and the number of scientific investigations of this environmental problem, the number of opinions, often emotional, and misinterpretations of the issue have also increased. Regrettably, this is not necessarily helping to advance scientific understanding of the problem. In this article, we revisit a number of issues relevant to ocean acidification that we think require thoughtful consideration including: (1) surface seawater CO2 chemistry in shallow water coastal areas, (2) experimental manipulation of marine systems using CO2 gas or by acid addition, (3) net versus gross calcification and dissolution, and (4) CaCO3 mineral dissolution and seawater buffering.

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Shell mineralogy of a foundational marine species, Mytilus californianus, over half a century in a changing ocean

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2004769118 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 118 (3) ◽

pp. e2004769118

Author(s):

Elizabeth M. Bullard ◽

Ivan Torres ◽

Tianqi Ren ◽

Olivia A. Graeve ◽

Kaustuv Roy

Keyword(s):

Ocean Acidification ◽

Historical Data ◽

Mineralogical Composition ◽

Marine Species ◽

Mytilus Californianus ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Saturation State ◽

Long Term Changes ◽

Time Periods

Anthropogenic warming and ocean acidification are predicted to negatively affect marine calcifiers. While negative effects of these stressors on physiology and shell calcification have been documented in many species, their effects on shell mineralogical composition remains poorly known, especially over longer time periods. Here, we quantify changes in the shell mineralogy of a foundation species, Mytilus californianus, under 60 y of ocean warming and acidification. Using historical data as a baseline and a resampling of present-day populations, we document a substantial increase in shell calcite and decrease in aragonite. These results indicate that ocean pH and saturation state, not temperature or salinity, play a strong role in mediating the shell mineralogy of this species and reveal long-term changes in this trait under ocean acidification.

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Perturbation experiments to investigate the impact of ocean acidification: approaches and software tools

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-6-4413-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 4413-4439 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

J.-P. Gattuso ◽

H. Lavigne

Keyword(s):

Ocean Acidification ◽

Software Package ◽

Biological Response ◽

Experimental Manipulation ◽

Carbonate Chemistry ◽

R Software ◽

Seawater Chemistry ◽

Seawater Carbonate Chemistry ◽

Gas Bubbling ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Although future changes in the seawater carbonate chemistry are well constrained, their impact on marine organisms and ecosystems remains poorly known. The biological response to ocean acidification is a recent field of research as most purposeful experiments have only been carried out in the late 1990s. The potentially dire consequences of ocean acidification attract scientists and students with a limited knowledge of the carbonate chemistry and its experimental manipulation. Hence, some guidelines on carbonate chemistry manipulations may be helpful for the growing ocean acidification community to maintain comparability. Perturbation experiments are one of the key approaches used to investigate the biological response to elevated pCO2. They are based on measurements of physiological or metabolic processes in organisms and communities exposed to seawater with normal or altered carbonate chemistry. Seawater chemistry can be manipulated in different ways depending on the facilities available and on the question being addressed. The goal of this paper is (1) to examine the benefits and drawbacks of various manipulation techniques and (2) to describe a new version of the R software package seacarb which includes new functions aimed at assisting the design of ocean acidification perturbation experiments. Three approaches closely mimic the on-going and future changes in the seawater carbonate chemistry: gas bubbling, addition of high-CO2 seawater as well as combined additions of acid and bicarbonate and/or carbonate.

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Applying organized scepticism to ocean acidification research

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsw010 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 73 (3) ◽

pp. 529-536 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Howard I. Browman

Keyword(s):

Ocean Acidification ◽

Science Studies ◽

The Body ◽

Marine Science ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Theme Issue ◽

Seawater Chemistry ◽

History Of Research ◽

History Of ◽

Do So

Abstract “Ocean acidification” (OA), a change in seawater chemistry driven by increased uptake of atmospheric CO2 by the oceans, has probably been the most-studied single topic in marine science in recent times. The majority of the literature on OA report negative effects of CO2 on organisms and conclude that OA will be detrimental to marine ecosystems. As is true across all of science, studies that report no effect of OA are typically more difficult to publish. Further, the mechanisms underlying the biological and ecological effects of OA have received little attention in most organismal groups, and some of the key mechanisms (e.g. calcification) are still incompletely understood. For these reasons, the ICES Journal of Marine Science solicited contributions to this special issue. In this introduction, I present a brief overview of the history of research on OA, call for a heightened level of organized (academic) scepticism to be applied to the body of work on OA, and briefly present the 44 contributions that appear in this theme issue. OA research has clearly matured, and is continuing to do so. We hope that our readership will find that, when taken together, the articles that appear herein do indeed move us “Towards a broader perspective on ocean acidification research”.

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Technical Note: Approaches and software tools to investigate the impact of ocean acidification

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-6-2121-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (10) ◽

pp. 2121-2133 ◽

Cited By ~ 109

Author(s):

J.-P. Gattuso ◽

H. Lavigne

Keyword(s):

Ocean Acidification ◽

Biological Response ◽

Experimental Manipulation ◽

Technical Note ◽

Carbonate Chemistry ◽

R Software ◽

Seawater Chemistry ◽

Seawater Carbonate Chemistry ◽

Gas Bubbling ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Although future changes in the seawater carbonate chemistry are well constrained, their impact on marine organisms and ecosystems remains poorly known. The biological response to ocean acidification is a recent field of research as most purposeful experiments have only been carried out in the late 1990s. The potentially dire consequences of ocean acidification attract scientists and students with a limited knowledge of the carbonate chemistry and its experimental manipulation. Hence, some guidelines on carbonate chemistry manipulations may be helpful for the growing ocean acidification community to maintain comparability. Perturbation experiments are one of the key approaches used to investigate the biological response to elevated pCO2. They are based on measurements of physiological or metabolic processes in organisms and communities exposed to seawater with normal or altered carbonate chemistry. Seawater chemistry can be manipulated in different ways depending on the facilities available and on the question being addressed. The goal of this paper is (1) to examine the benefits and drawbacks of various manipulation techniques and (2) to describe a new version of the R software package seacarb which includes new functions aimed at assisting the design of ocean acidification perturbation experiments. Three approaches closely mimic the on-going and future changes in the seawater carbonate chemistry: gas bubbling, addition of high-CO2 seawater as well as combined additions of acid and bicarbonate and/or carbonate.

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Diel CO 2 cycles and parental effects have similar benefits to growth of a coral reef fish under ocean acidification

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2018.0724 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 20180724 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Michael D. Jarrold ◽

Philip L. Munday

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Ocean Acidification ◽

Shallow Water ◽

Parental Effects ◽

Juvenile Growth ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Parental Exposure ◽

Juvenile Coral ◽

Marine Habitats ◽

Amphiprion Melanopus

Parental effects have been shown to buffer the negative effects of within-generation exposure to ocean acidification (OA) conditions on the offspring of shallow water marine organisms. However, it remains unknown if parental effects will be impacted by the presence of diel CO 2 cycles that are prevalent in many shallow water marine habitats. Here, we examined the effects that parental exposure to stable elevated (1000 µatm) and diel-cycling elevated (1000 ± 300 µatm) CO 2 had on the survival and growth of juvenile coral reef anemonefish, Amphiprion melanopus . Juvenile survival was unaffected by within-generation exposure to either elevated CO 2 treatment but was significantly increased (8%) by parental exposure to diel-cycling elevated CO 2 . Within-generation exposure to stable elevated CO 2 caused a significant reduction in juvenile growth (10.7–18.5%); however, there was no effect of elevated CO 2 on growth when diel CO 2 cycles were present. Parental exposure to stable elevated CO 2 also ameliorated the negative effects of elevated CO 2 on juvenile growth, and parental exposure to diel CO 2 cycles did not alter the effects of diel CO 2 cycles on juveniles. Our results demonstrate that within-generation exposure to diel-cycling elevated CO 2 and parental exposure to stable elevated CO 2 had similar outcomes on juvenile condition. This study illustrates the importance of considering natural CO 2 cycles when predicting the long-term impacts of OA on marine ecosystems.

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Towards Control of an Estuary

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1987.0077 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 19 (9) ◽

pp. 155-174

Author(s):

Henk L. F. Saeijs

Keyword(s):

Shallow Water ◽

Storm Surge ◽

Salt Marshes ◽

Large Scale ◽

Western Europe ◽

Oxygen Depletion ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Intertidal Flats ◽

Environmental Consequences ◽

Short Time

The Delta Project is in its final stage. In 1974 it was subjected to political reconsideration, but it is scheduled now for completion in 1987. The final touches are being put to the storm-surge barrier and two compartment dams that divide the Oosterschelde into three areas: one tidal, one with reduced tide, and one a freshwater lake. Compartmentalization will result in 13% of channels, 45% of intertidal flats and 59% of salt marshes being lost. There is a net gain of 7% of shallow-water areas. Human interventions with large scale impacts are not new in the Oosterschelde but the large scale and short time in which these interventions are taking place are, as is the creation of a controlled tidal system. This article focusses on the area with reduced tide and compares resent day and expected characteristics. In this reduced tidal part salt marshes will extend by 30–70%; intertidal flats will erode to a lower level and at their edges, and the area of shallow water will increase by 47%. Biomass production on the intertidal flats will decrease, with consequences for crustaceans, fishes and birds. The maximum number of waders counted on one day and the number of ‘bird-days' will decrease drastically, with negative effects for the wader populations of western Europe. The net area with a hard substratum in the reduced tidal part has more than doubled. Channels will become shallower. Detritus import will not change significantly. Stratification and oxygen depletion will be rare and local. The operation of the storm-surge barrier and the closure strategy chosen are very important for the ecosystem. Two optional closure strategies can be followed without any additional environmental consequences. It was essential to determine a clearly defined plan of action for the whole area, and to make land-use choices from the outset. How this was done is briefly described.

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Thermal stress reduces pocilloporid coral resilience to ocean acidification by impairing control over calcifying fluid chemistry

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.aba9958 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. eaba9958

Author(s):

Maxence Guillermic ◽

Louise P. Cameron ◽

Ilian De Corte ◽

Sambuddha Misra ◽

Jelle Bijma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal Stress ◽

Ocean Acidification ◽

Pocillopora Damicornis ◽

Carbonate Chemistry ◽

Negative Interaction ◽

Saturation State ◽

Stylophora Pistillata ◽

Coral Calcification ◽

Influence Of Temperature On ◽

Different Time Scales

The combination of thermal stress and ocean acidification (OA) can more negatively affect coral calcification than an individual stressors, but the mechanism behind this interaction is unknown. We used two independent methods (microelectrode and boron geochemistry) to measure calcifying fluid pH (pHcf) and carbonate chemistry of the corals Pocillopora damicornis and Stylophora pistillata grown under various temperature and pCO2 conditions. Although these approaches demonstrate that they record pHcf over different time scales, they reveal that both species can cope with OA under optimal temperatures (28°C) by elevating pHcf and aragonite saturation state (Ωcf) in support of calcification. At 31°C, neither species elevated these parameters as they did at 28°C and, likewise, could not maintain substantially positive calcification rates under any pH treatment. These results reveal a previously uncharacterized influence of temperature on coral pHcf regulation—the apparent mechanism behind the negative interaction between thermal stress and OA on coral calcification.

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Metabolic cost of calcification in bivalve larvae under experimental ocean acidification

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsw213 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 74 (4) ◽

pp. 941-954 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Christina A. Frieder ◽

Scott L. Applebaum ◽

T.-C. Francis Pan ◽

Dennis Hedgecock ◽

Donal T. Manahan

Keyword(s):

Ocean Acidification ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Metabolic Cost ◽

Shell Formation ◽

Metabolic Demand ◽

Shell Size ◽

Saturation State ◽

Shell Mass ◽

Energy Limitation ◽

Endogenous Reserves

Abstract Physiological increases in energy expenditure frequently occur in response to environmental stress. Although energy limitation is often invoked as a basis for decreased calcification under ocean acidification, energy-relevant measurements related to this process are scant. In this study we focus on first-shell (prodissoconch I) formation in larvae of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. The energy cost of calcification was empirically derived to be ≤ 1.1 µJ (ng CaCO3)−1. Regardless of the saturation state of aragonite (2.77 vs. 0.77), larvae utilize the same amount of total energy to complete first-shell formation. Even though there was a 56% reduction of shell mass and an increase in dissolution at aragonite undersaturation, first-shell formation is not energy limited because sufficient endogenous reserves are available to meet metabolic demand. Further studies were undertaken on larvae from genetic crosses of pedigreed lines to test for variance in response to aragonite undersaturation. Larval families show variation in response to ocean acidification, with loss of shell size ranging from no effect to 28%. These differences show that resilience to ocean acidification may exist among genotypes. Combined studies of bioenergetics and genetics are promising approaches for understanding climate change impacts on marine organisms that undergo calcification.

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A ‘Suitable Soil’: Plague’s Urban Breeding Grounds at the Dawn of the Third Pandemic

Medical History ◽

10.1017/mdh.2017.32 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 61 (3) ◽

pp. 343-357 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Christos Lynteris

Keyword(s):

Modern Medicine ◽

High Profile ◽

Scientific Investigations ◽

The Third ◽

Hands On ◽

Material Reality ◽

Breeding Grounds ◽

Major Outbreak ◽

Urban Terrain ◽

Scientific Debates

A pressing question during the first half-decade of the third plague pandemic (1894–9) was what was a ‘suitable soil’ for the disease. The question related to plague’s perceived ability to disappear from a given city only to reappear at some future point; a phenomenon that became central to scientific investigations of the disease. However, rather than this simply having a metaphorical meaning, the debate around plague’s ‘suitable soil’ actually concerned the material reality of the soil itself. The prevalence of plague in the working-class neighbourhood of Taipingshan during the first major outbreak of the pandemic, in 1894 in Hong Kong, led to an extensive debate regarding the ability of the soil to harbour and even spread the disease. Involving experiments, which were seen as able to procure evidence for or against the demolition or even torching of the area, scientific and administrative concerns over the soil rendered it an unstable yet highly productive epistemic thing. The spread of plague to India further fuelled concerns over the ability of the soil to act as the medium of the disease’s so-called true recrudescence. Besides high-profile scientific debates, hands-on experiments on purifying the soil of infected houses by means of highly intrusive methods allowed scientists and administrators to act upon and further solidify plague’s supposed invisibility in the urban terrain. Rather than being a short-lived, moribund object of epidemiological concern, this paper will demonstrate that the soil played a crucial role in the development of plague as a scientifically knowable and actionable category for modern medicine.

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